Transcript

00:00:00

>> The largest US drug maker says it'll no longer allow any of its products to be used in lethal injections. On Friday, Pfizer released a statement saying "the company strongly objects to the use of it's products as lethal injections for capital punishment.". The move shuts off the last remaining open market source of drugs used in executions, following similar actions by more than 20 US and European drug makers.

00:00:23

According to the report in the New York Times Friday. The list of products includes the powerful anaesthetic Propofol, the drug that killed Michael Jackson. The death penalty is legal in thirty one states, but executions have been on the decline for years, in part due to long, costly court battles and a scramble to secure execution drugs.

00:00:41

Pfizer's new distribution restriction limits the sale of the products to a select group of wholesalers, distributors, and direct purchasers under the condition that they will not resell these products to correctional institutions for use in lethal injections.